Blog

Former LA Galaxy midfielder Mike Magee trained with the Chicago Fire for the first time since being traded by the LA Galaxy for Robbie Rogers last Saturday.

Magee will don the number nine shirt with the Fire and spoke to the media for the first time on Monday about his deal that sent him from LA to his hometown of Chicago.

“It’s been on my mind pretty much since I left. I tried to get back [here] a couple times in the past and then I think throughout the process with Robbie Rogers, that whole saga with him trying to get to LA, it crept in my mind that somebody had to go to Chicago and I raised my hand," Magee told reporters.

As for how he intends to fit in with the Fire, Magee admits that the process is already ongoing as he hopes to translate his MLS Cup winning success with LA to Chicago.

“I hope so. It’s weird coming in. I have to cut the chord with LA and try not to mention anything about that. Nobody wants to hear me talk about any of that stuff. Obviously there are certain things that we had there and I’ll try to implement some of those things," Magee said. "I played with some pretty cool players in LA so hopefully I’ll try to take some of the things I learned from them and teach some of the young guys here. They have good leadership here. Larentowicz and Logan are two good guys – good locker room guys.”

But arguably the player who had the best showing in the LA Galaxy’s 4-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC was midfielder Michael Stephens.

The four-year MLS veteran enjoyed, arguably, the finest performance of his career in LA's trouncing of Seattle. Stephens was a bundle of energy throughout his 90 minute shift as he continually pestered the Sounders from his post on LA's left flank. The stat sheet was kind to the 24-year-old, who completed 37 of his 47 passes—one of which being a key pass to set up a scoring opportunity—as well as seven recoveries.

“I thought Mike Stephens had an excellent night tonight. He was incredibly busy; he put a lot of pressure on them,” said Arena. “His passing was good, he got the ball off his feet, he was active, and [it was] Mikey’s best performance this year.”

LA captain Robbie Keane was quick to agree.

“I thought Mikey did very well,” said Keane. "Mikey is full of energy and especially tonight, the system that they play suited us actually.”

After going to the distance against Sounders FC, Stephens may see limited in LA’s U.S. Open Cup third round clash against the Carolina RailHawks on Wednesday, but will likely be in contention for a start against the New England Revolution.

A view from the Seattle Sounders FC locker room after their 4-0 defeat to the LA Galaxy.

Check out the league provided quote sheet below...

Seattle Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid

(On the Sounders’ performance...)

SCHMID: “Our passing was more negative and back, we tried to dump too many long balls instead of playing over the wings a little bit more. We never forced them to defend for periods of time so we were constantly on our heels.”

(On evaluating a loss like this...)

SCHMID: "When you beat San Jose 4-0 that’s not going to say you’re going to win every game 4-0 and when you lose here 4-0 that’s not going to say you’re going to lose every game 4-0. You have to evaluate a body of work; you can’t react to an individual game or individual 10 minutes or a half or whatever. There’s got to be some accountability and we’ll address that.”

(On the penalties...)

SCHMID: "I didn’t think the first one was a penalty, I thought it was a good tackle by Djimi Traore. I thought the second one was a penalty, but I didn’t think the first one was.”

On Robbie Rogers’ return

SCHMID: "It’s great. I talked to Robbie briefly before the game and it’s great that he’s back. I’m happy he’s back and we allowed it to be a nice night for him as we played poorly."

Seattle Sounders FC Goalkeeper Michael Gspurning

(On losing 4-0...)

GSPURNING: "It’s absolutely not up to our standard and we have to sit together and talk about this one. It’s important we stay together and sometimes instead of pointing fingers we as a team need to join together and figure it out.”

(On how they bounce back from this loss...)

GSPURNING: “For us, the next game can’t be soon enough. I think most of the guys would want to play tomorrow because that’s the only way you can make changes for the future.”

(On the penalty kicks...)

GSPURNING: “On the first one I felt good. The first one we were still in the game because I made the save. Then of course on the second one, that leaves the thoughts of ‘What is he doing? Is he changing direction? There was nothing I could do on the second one. It’s just unfortunate that he can retake the penalty.”

Seattle Sounders FC Midfielder Mauro Rosales

(On the game...)

ROSALES: "It wasn’t our best game. From our form to our rhythm that we’ve had from past games, we did not have it today. Today the first half was really a disaster. We have to move forward. It’s tough to solve but the team has enough experience to step up in the next few games. “

(On how the team overcomes this game...)

ROSALES: "We have to forget about what we did tonight. Tonight, we did everything wrong. When we had the good rhythm of games, we were in rhythm and this is how we have to play. Not today, not in the first half and not in the second half did we control the game but at least in the second we did it more together as a group. We faced the second half with a different mentality and we needed this mentality in the first half before the goals.”

*Robbie Keane's hat trick was his first in an LA Galaxy uniform and took just 21 minutes to complete.

*Keane scored the second quickest hat trick in LA Galaxy history with his hat trick coming 44 minutes into the match. Alejandro Moreno holds the mark for fastest hat trick in LA Galaxy history with his hat trick in 43 minutes back in the 2007 season.

*Sean Franklin's goal was his first of 2013 and his first regular season goal since he scored two in LA's 2-2 draw with Sporting Kansas City on September 5, 2011.

*Todd Dunivant missed the match with a quad strain.

*Sounders FC are 0-5-1 all-time on the road against LA, which includes playoffs and regular season, since 2010. Seattle has been outscored 13-2 in that time.

*The LA Galaxy are 4-1-1 at home this season with a 12-2 goal differential.

CARSON, Calif. -- Below are Landon Donovan's comments following the LA Galaxy's 4-0 victory over Seattle Sounders FC. The match was a historic game as it saw the Galaxy debut of Robbie Rogers, American professional team sports first openly gay male athlete.

Donovan's comments are below..

(On the first half performance...)

DONOVAN: "I think our start was really good, not just the goals but the energy. The way we pressed, the aggressive nature we played with. We made tackles, we passed the ball well, we got a lot of chances and then when we had the chance to score we scored. It was as well as we’ve played all year."

(On what Robbie brings to the team...)

DONOVAN: "Once he’s fully fit he’s a true wide player that we haven’t had in a long time and I know Bruce has been searching for a player like that. On one hand, we lose one of our most influential players which is tough but we’re getting a guy who’s been very effective in this league and we’re really excited to have him."

(On what the team takes from Robbie’s courage to return...)

DONOVAN: "I think every person will take something from it individually. For me, it’s inspiring in that it’s OK to be who we are. We all have differences, we all have things were going through and for him to accept who he is and be proud of who he is I think inspires all of us both as athletes and as people."

On when people will focus on Robbie’s soccer life over his personal life...)

DONOVAN: "I think eventually we’ll get to that point and that’s the hope. But for now, because of the nature of the way sports have been for so many years, the macho-culture that’s been embraced by everybody, it’s of interest to everybody. So now, for us, hopefully the hype of it is over and for him too. We can just get back to getting comfortable which is what he wants to do."

CARSON, Calif. -- The LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders FC will face off in a match that may be first in American team sports history as Robbie Rogers, the first openly gay professional athlete looks to take the field.

Johnson notched two goals last week in the Sounders impressive victory over FC Dallas, but he'll face a stronger challenge in Gonzalez, who is eager to rebound after a late break down cost the Galaxy a point in their defeat to New York last week.

Robbie Keane vs. Djimi Traoré

The pair battled several times during Keane's time at Tottenham while Traoré was with Liverpool and will face off again on Sunday. Expect Keane to look to get off to a fast start as he'll be off for Ireland duty after the match.

Galaxy/Sounders each look to score first

Sunday's match is a simple case of who scores first wins. The Galaxy and Seattle are a combined 9-0-4 when scoring first, but when they concede, they are 0-7-0.